


Narry Gymnastics AU

by elephantpancakes



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 15:00:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2313698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elephantpancakes/pseuds/elephantpancakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Niall and Harry do gymnastics.</p><p>And Niall makes a mess of things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Narry Gymnastics AU

**Author's Note:**

> So this is actually the worst story ever. I just happened to come upon it in my unfinished stories folder and I thought I'd try to do something with it. I'm only posting it because Chrisi is a persistent little bugger. So yeah. I didn't proof read it beforehand so sorry for any mistakes. I also stole a line from the movie Stick It because I'm lame.

_Don’t push too much but don’t give too little. Use your power, you have plenty of it. Control. Use your control. Pull up, twist, let go. Block everything else out. You can do this._

He could feel the springs beneath him collapsing and bouncing back into place. His feet propelled him forward; seeming to be the equivalent to a heart beat pumping blood throughout the body. Step. Pump. Step. Pump. He can feel the adrenaline flooding through him. _Control._ His hands connect with the ground, his muscular arms hurling him into the air and for those few seconds he’s high. Nothing around him exists and it’s as if he’s just taken a leap from an airplane. Every problem, every burden, every thought has evaporated from his mind and lifted from his shoulders and he’s light. He’s feather light and it’s like he’s floating but he’s not so he does what he’s practiced. _Pull up, twist, let go._ But he doesn’t let go. He can’t let go and this has always been a problem for him. He loves it so much and he just can’t let go of the high. He’s addicted. But then his stomach drops and he can feel his body weighing on him, bringing him back down and his feet are about to connect with the ground and he tries to bring himself back to reality as quickly as gravity decided to rip away his high and he thinks _controlcontrolcontrol_ but it’s too late and he skids backwards and onto his back. He closes his eyes and tries not to let his frustration get the best of him. _You’ll get it next time._ But he said that every time before too.

 

“Too much power, Harry.” He rolls his eyes so far back he thinks they might not come back right. _It wasn’t too much power_ he thinks bitterly _I lost control._ But he can’t say it aloud so he lets out a frustrated huff and stands up.

 

“Yeah, I know Nate. Thanks.” He replies dusting himself off. He’s being short and he knows it but _god_ he’s heard it so many times before. He goes over to the bowl to apply some more powder to his hands, completely ignoring his coach and thinking over his mistakes. _Focus._ He glances up and looks curiously at the sudden clutter of people hovering near the entrance.

 

“What’s going on over there?” He asks curiously.

 

Nate comes over and claps a hand onto Harry’s shoulder.

 

“He’s back.” And Harry’s world comes falling apart.

 

He stares at Nate’s retreating frame as he walks towards the crowd that’s now thinning out, people going back to work. He catches a glimpse of the dyed blonde hair and quickly spins around. _This is not happening. This is_ not _happening._ He goes back to the starting corner of the mat. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath. _Block everything out. Block_ him _out. No distractions. He’s just a distraction._ He loses control again and lands on his back. He lets out a frustrated groan and pounds the mat with his fist.

 

“See you’re still poppin’ your clutch.” Harry freezes and wishes he would evaporate into thin air, maybe have the mat swallow him whole. His voice still sounds the same. Exactly the same as it did all those years ago.

 

He gathers himself together and gets up. He has half the mind to completely ignore him but the other half is furious because how can he come in here and just waltz right up to him as if nothing happened? But when he finally has the courage to look at him it’s like his lungs collapse and his brain gets fuzzy. He still looks the same but oh so different. The baby fat in his face is gone making his jawline sharper and prominent. His hair is shorter and styled up in a quiff, his brown roots dominating the blonde tips. His shoulders are broad and his arms are filled out and his eyes. His eyes are as bright as he’s ever seen them and that irritates him because why? Why isn’t he suffering? Why isn’t he suffering the way Harry has been suffering for the past _four years?_

 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he mumbles. It’s more of a statement to himself as he walks by him—he tries to ignore the burning sensation on his skin as their shoulders brush—but the other boy catches it.

 

“You never were the one to give a warm welcome.” And he chuckles. He _chuckles._

 

Harry quickly turns around and the words are there. They’re on tip of his tongue. Words that he knows will break the other lad but he thinks better of himself. So he shakes his head and gives him a smirk. “You’re not worth my time anymore Niall.” And he sees his smile falter before he turns and walks away from him.

 

_He’s not worth anymore of your time. Focus._

**

“Hi honey!” Harry’s mom gives him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “How was it?” He gives her a tight smile and a short nod.

 

“I’m gonna go change for dinner.” She smiles at him and tells him dinner will be ready in five before he retreats to his room, flopping onto his bed with relief. He lets his eyes droop shut for just a moment and then his mother was calling.

 

He trudged down the stairs and plopped into his seat next to Gemma, nudging her in the side when she tried to ruffle his hair.

 

They ate in silence for a while before his mother finally speaks up.

 

“Oh, Harry! Guess who I saw today!” He looked up at her with a mouth full of vegetables, a piece of broccoli hanging from the corner making Gemma snort. “Niall and Maura Horan! Completely unexpected! Got to talk to them for a good half hour before they had to go. Did you see him at the gym today by chance? You two used to be inseparable I’m sure he stopped by to say hello?”

 

Harry nearly choked on his food from his mother’s questioning, quickly; he excuses himself from the table and runs to the door. He slides on his shoes and pulls on a hoody. Ignoring his mother’s concerned calls he stumbles out the door, immediately picking up a quick and steady pace.

 

He ran around the neighborhood trying to clear his head and wondering why and how his life had become so stressful in less than 24 hours.

 

He picked up his pace as he rounded the corner back onto his street. He could see the Horan’s car sitting outside their old home. _Figures they’d move back into the same house._ Harry spotted a figure sitting on the steps as he came closer. He pulled his hood over his head in hopes not to be recognized but Harry was positive he knew. They used to do this all the time. Harry would get too stressed and go for a run around the neighborhood and then he would make a pit stop at Niall’s, laying in bed and talking to the other lad until the early hours of the morning, usually falling asleep there until his mother would call in the morning. It’s crazy how things happened. Even after four years it was still like clock work.

Harry pushed his thoughts of the past to the back of his mind, focusing on his breathing. He could see his porch light from here and in just a few more quick strides he’d be at his front door. He ignored the desperate calls of his name (one after another) and sprinted to his door. He didn’t bother looking back.

 

_Not worth the time._

**

It’s been a week and a half. Niall continues to try to get Harry’s attention, in and outside of the gym. But Harry refuses to give him the time of day.

 

**

“Harry, I need a huge favor.” He turned around to look at Nate. He seemed slightly more distressed than usual and Harry just gave him a questioning look. “I need you to help Niall starting tonight.” The words came out of his mouth in a hurried, jumbled mess but Harry quickly pieced them together and took a step back, caught off guard. That was the last thing he was expecting.

 

“Absolutely not, Nate. I will help any other person here, literally anyone but not him. No.” Harry shook his head vigorously. He couldn’t believe Nate was asking him to do this. He was there. He _knew._

“Harry, look I know you don’t want to but you’re the only person with enough experience to train another—”

 

“No, Nate.”

 

Harry could tell he was fed up with his stubbornness because he gave Harry a hard glare and spat, “Well it’s not a choice.” Before storming off.

 

_This cannot be happening._

-

Harry watched somberly from the bleachers as the last of the people left the building. How did he end up here?

 

“Just a short private lesson after everyone leaves. He needs help with his quad.” Nate had told him.

 

“Why can’t you just do it? It is your job after all.” He had used some lame excuse about his wife after that and Harry quite frankly was done putting up a fight.

 

There was the sound of a door closing and the blonde boy showed up in the middle of the large blue floor. Harry assumed he didn’t notice his presence because he began to warm up, practicing his techniques before putting them into action.

 

Harry watched Niall intently, studying him. Everything about him was broader and he had this aura about him that screamed man. He wasn’t that tiny fourteen-year-old boy he used to know and yet he still managed to shine just the same. He glowed with life because if there was one thing Niall knew how to do, it was live.

 

He watched silently as Niall propelled himself across the floor multiple times, each time landing on his knees. He didn’t seem focused. Something was holding him back.

 

“Ya know,” Harry was startled by his voice, he wasn’t aware that he had been spotted, “if you don’t want to be here that badly, you can just leave.”

 

Harry scoffed, rushing down the stairs to gather his things. Well if Niall was going to treat him like that then he damn sure wasn’t going to stick around to try and help him.

 

“You would know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Harry spat as he shouldered his bag and headed for the door.

 

“Jesus Harry, really? It’s been four years and you won’t talk to me? About _anything_?”

 

Harry stopped and spun around to face him. “That’s exactly it Niall! It’s been _four years_!”

 

“Just give me a chance to explain myself.”

 

“You walked out on me! What is there to explain?” Harry was full on yelling now. He was usually good with confrontation, never letting his anger get the best of him but this was different. This was four years of harbored anger and he refused to hide it any longer.

 

“Harry I just want to make things right. Please just give me a chance.” Niall was desperate and he didn’t bother hiding it either. Each word was oozing with regret and guilt, his eyes begging for forgiveness.

 

“We’re not fourteen anymore Niall! You can’t just leave and then come back and act like nothing ever happened! Do you know how _hard_ things were for me when you left? I couldn’t eat or sleep for weeks. I stopped communicating with people and threw every fiber of my being into gymnastics. I shut everything and everyone out and worst of all, I blamed myself for you leaving. I convinced myself one hundred percent that it was my fault and I beat myself up over it for months.” Harry’s chest was heaving with each breath he took. He was no longer angry, his emotions getting the best of him. He turned away from Niall and took a step towards the exit before speaking, his voice just barely audible. “Why’d you come back?”

 

Before Niall could answer the question, Harry pushed through the large double doors leaving the blonde Irishman to his thoughts.

**

“Is that him?” Zayn asked from Harry’s left. “He’s very um… Very uh…”

 

“Blonde?” Liam offered.

 

Harry chuckled between them. They had insisted that they tag along to “supervise” and see what had Harry all riled up.

 

“Honestly, I don’t see what the problem is here!” Liam seemed genuinely confused as to why Harry despised this little Irish ray of sunshine standing before them.

 

He sighed and pushed himself up off the bench. “There’s more to it than you think, Li.”

 

He abandoned his friends in the bleachers and joined Niall on the mat. “You’re letting go too early.” He states simply.

 

Niall gives him a blank stare and doesn’t say anything. Harry stares back until he’s had enough and rolls his eyes.

 

“Do a handstand.” Niall continues to stare at him and Harry raises his eyebrows expectantly.

 

He watches as Niall centers his body on his hands and then begins to circle around him.

 

“Feel the way you’re clenching your stomach. The way your core tenses as you attempt to keep your body centered. It’s the same way when you’re throwing a quad. Suck up and keep your core tight because if you let go too early,” Harry pushes Niall’s legs, sending the blonde boy tumbling to the floor in a heap of limbs, “you’ll end up on your ass.”

 

Niall stands up and dusts himself off. “Way to build trust,” he mumbles.

 

“Learned it from you.”

 

“I deserve that,” Niall’s voice was dejected, his head slung low.

 

Harry eyed him for a second before moving on to the next exercise, giving Niall detailed instructions to help him improve. They went on this way for another hour, practicing different techniques to strengthen Niall’s core. His core didn’t need strengthening but the exercises helped him to keep it tight and not let go. That was usually Niall’s problem he let go too early, too easily.

 

“Let’s try it for real this time, yeah?” Niall nodded and walked over to the corner of the mat. Harry took the opportunity to take a look into the bleachers, only to find his two friends had long since abandoned their seats. So much for supervising. He wasn’t sure how long it had been just him and Niall but it unnerved him for some odd reason.

 

When he turned around Niall was staring at him, patiently waiting. Harry motioned his hand to him, as if to give him the okay to go. He watched carefully as Niall angled and adjusted himself. He studied the way Niall’s arms swung back and forth, providing enough force to carry him forward, moving in time with his feet. His hands hit the mat and he launched himself into the air. Harry shuffled along with him, reaching into the whirling tornado that was Niall and placed a hand on his back, guiding him through the motions. Suddenly, Niall’s body began to drop and Harry knew, he’d let go. He could feel it in the way his lower back relaxed against his hand. He twisted a fist into Niall’s shirt and placed his other hand on his stomach, lifting the boy slightly to soften the blow and he dropped to the mat.

 

“You let go too early,” Harry wasn’t quite sure why he was whispering but maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was kneeling next to Niall—he wasn’t quite sure when he got down there—his hands still on the other boy’s body.

 

Niall looked up at him, eyes glistening with regret. “Yeah, yeah I did.” His voice was just as soft as Harry’s.

 

“Why?” The question was loaded, not pertaining to gymnastics whatsoever, and Harry didn’t know why he asked because it was the question he’d been avoiding since Niall came back but he was suddenly very curious.

 

“I was scared,” Niall shifted, forcing Harry’s hands to drop to his sides, before pulling him down to sit next to him. He laced their fingers before he continued. “I was so scared, Harry. We were so young. We were _fourteen_. Christ,” he ran his hand through his hair and Harry could see it was shaking a little, “we’re _still_ so young. And then I got a call from the national team of Ireland—they wanted me to train with them—and I thought it was the perfect escape.”

 

Harry scoffed, pulling his hand away. There was a reason he didn’t trust so willingly. He was about to stand up but Niall was too quick and before he knew it, he was pinned beneath the blonde.

 

“Ugh, Niall get off!” He tried pushing at his chest but Niall was solid and stayed put. Instead, the Irishman grabbed his wrists with one hand and pinned them above his head. His other hand cupped Harry’s jaw gently, thumb lightly caressing Harry’s plump bottom lip.

 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his words sincere. Harry’s heart stuttered in his chest and he was amazed at how easily he cracked. His breathing became shallow as Niall leaned down over him, whispering his apologies repeatedly. “I’m so sorry. I was stupid. And young. Hell we’re still young. But I want you. And I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Harry.” His words came in between kisses. A kiss to his jaw, a kiss to his neck, a kiss to his cheek. He had kissed every inch of skin from his neck, up before Harry was a breathless, giggling mess.

 

“It’s okay, Niall.” He tried to move his hands but all he could do was hopelessly stretch his fingers.

 

“No it’s not, I’m an idiot.” Niall’s face finally returned to his line of vision.

 

“Yeah, you’re an idiot. But I still want you.” Niall grinned; pressing his lips firmly Harry’s. The last time they’d been in this position Niall had fucked off to Ireland a week later, but it was different this time. Harry didn’t know what was different because Niall was rolling his hips into his and sucking on his tongue and he couldn’t think straight anymore but he knew it would be different.

 

“Niall?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“We’re still on the gym floor,” Niall let out a hearty laugh, his breath ghosting over Harry’s lips.

 

“Yeah, I guess we are. Shall we relocate?” Harry gave him a quizzical look. It was nearly midnight, what could they possibly do? This boy was always up to no good. But he just simply responded with a sweet, blinding smile. “We have four years to make up for.”

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, I'm sorry for this horrific piece of work. I'm also sorry for the crappy ending. But if you pushed through I really, truly appreciate it. Thank you for reading! Much love!


End file.
